Colfax Corporation, a global leader in fluid-handling solutions for critical applications, announced its Allweiler AG business unit will deliver a US$1.4mn fuel injection skid order through Siemens AG for use in gas turbines in Iraq. The skids will be used for power plant expansions in Kirkuk as well as new plants being built in Baiji and Baghdad. The first two skids will be completed in early 2011. The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity has ordered an additional five and has options to purchase three more.

Saudi state-owned Saline Water Conversion Corp (SWCC) has awarded a US$2.44 billion power plant contract to a group led by China's Sepco III Electric Power Construction Corp, an industry source has been reported as saying. The group, which includes Saudi Arabia's Al Arrab Contracting Co, will build a 2,400 MW plant that will be integrated with a water desalination facility in Ras Azzour, on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast. Sepco III and Al Arrab's bid was the lowest.

In spite of a substantial fall off in world exports of diesel generating sets up to 2000 kVA, the Middle East, comparatively, showed a more modest fall. Worldwide export figures show a US$2.5bn or 28.7 per cent fall compared to a 14.6 per cent fall in the Middle East (accounting for some US$237mn). According to Customs & Excise official statistics, exports from the UK to the Middle East fell by US$115mn (19 per cent) although their sales still outrank the rest of Europe. Surprisingly, the rest of Europe showed an increase in exports against the previous year by a handy US$52mn. By comparison, the US had a large fall of approximately US$105mn, China fell by US$43mn and Japan by US$26mn.

Two new gas turbines with a total production capacity of 400 MW will be commissioned by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) before the end of the current year, according to DEWA managing director and CEO, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer. The utility will also commission two desalination units with a total production capacity of 160,000 litres of water, in addition to four auxiliary boilers according to Al Tayer. The units of power generation and water desalination project (Station M) have come into service this year to raise the production capacity of both electricity and desalinated water of DEWA.

Saudi Electricity has posted a 50 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit thanks to lower costs and higher revenues with further gains expected after a rise in power tariffs for some users. The Gulf's largest utility by market value made US$285.3mn in the three months to the end of June compared with US$191mn riyals a year earlier, according to a statement to the Saudi bourse. This figure is 13 per cent higher than analysts' forecasts.

Ali Akbar Salehi, responsible for managing Iran's atomic energy policy, has confirmed the launch of the Islamic republic's first nuclear power plant. The plan was initially announced by Russia which has helped build the facility.

Siemens Energy has secured a US$130mn order to supply gas turbine packages to Saudi Arabia. The components are to be installed in the Hail Extension II and Al Qurayat Expansion II power plants. The purchasers are the Alfanar Construction Company and Saudi Services for Electromechanic Works (SSEM) respectively and they will perform the project on a turnkey basis for the Saudi Electric Company (SEC) utility. Delivery of the components is scheduled for 2010 and 2011.

Power and automation technology group, ABB, has won an order worth US$89mn from the Saudi Electricity Company to build a new substation to ensure reliable power supplies for the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. The substation will be close to the financial centre and feed four smaller substations situated within the district. The project is expected to be completed in around 22 months.

Air blowers using internal compression instead of external compression can set a new standard for energy efficiency in the low-pressure market according to a new technical whitepaper from Atlas Copco’s oil-free air division. The whitepaper explains the differences between screw technology and the traditional ‘Roots’ type lobe technology and says that screw technology, which is used in Atlas Copco's ZS screw blowers, is on average 30 per cent more energy efficient. The manufacturer recently launched its full range of ZS screw blowers that are designed to improve energy efficiency for low-pressure applications and industries such as wastewater treatment and pneumatic conveying.

Plans for the zero-carbon Masdar City project are to be revised, with details of the amended master plan to be announced “imminently” according to Masdar's head of supply-chain management, Richard Reynolds. “We’ll finalise the revised Masdar plan fairly imminently, in the next two to three weeks,” Reynolds was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “We’d only built part of it, so it made sense to stop and revisit.”

Oman has awarded France's GDF Suez a US$1.7 billion contract to build two power plants. A tender board official told Reuters, “GDF Suez has signed a 15-year contract with the government in a BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) model for which the company will spend 700 million rials."

An executive from state oil company Saudi Aramco has said that renewable sources could account for up to 10 per cent of Saudi Arabia's power output by 2020 with prices coming down and a regulatory framework in place.

COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL property owners and tenants in Sharjah who have failed to take energy saving measures will have seen their electricity bills double by millions of dirhams in just two years, according to a recent survey.

Technical Review Middle East - Issue Three 2009 Power 60 IN THE PRESENT economic climate the fact that renewable energy can cut pollution levels may not be enough. As Phil Desmond discovers, some recent innovations in the field of cellular communications are being promoted not just as being better for the environment than conventional fuels but better for business too.

ONE OF THE biggest challenges for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) is to ensure that it has enough capacity to take care of the utility needs of a rapidly growing city like Dubai. It has budgeted US$2 billion this year to spend on new projects as part of its spending plan over the next several years.

APC BY SCHNEIDER Electric, a global leader in integrated critical power and cooling services, recently announced the appointment of Saudi Business Machines Ltd. (SBM) as a gold partner in the burgeoning Saudi market. Gold partner is the top level of partnership in the current APC channel program. APC who recently opened their new office in Riyadh, have extended their regional channel development with the appointment of SBM as the gold partner.

ARAMCO’S “FAIR” PRICE of US$75 a barrel has not yet been achieved but the giant Saudi economy is still surging ahead, prioritising the creation of new homes and diversified jobs in industry, social and other services to satisfy the needs of a 26mn young and wealthy population which grows at two per cent-plus every year. This means continued rapid progress on the development of the new Economic Cities, further and accelerated petrochemical and light industrial diversification, and the Middle East’s largest by far programme of dedicated passenger- and freightline rail construction.

WITH THE CURRENT turmoil in the world economy and oil price volatility, many companies in the Middle East will be reflecting carefully on their investment and capital expenditure plans, seeking new savings and efficiencies. In capital investment for plant and machinery, such as air compressors, this may lead to deferrals in the normal timescale for replacing equipment.

Project Facility Budget ($ US) Country Status
ASHGHAL - Doha North Sewage Treatment Plant Waste Water Treatment 1,500,000,000 Qatar EPC
ASHGHAL - Wastewater Collection, Treatment and Reuse Plant Waste Water Treatment 1,350,000,000 Qatar PMC
EMAAR - King Abdullah City Power Grid Power Grid Unknown Saudi Arabia EPC
GCCIA - GCC Power Grid Power Grid Unknown Saudi Arabia EPC
GCCIA - GCC Power Grid (Qatar) Power Grid 7,000,000,000 Qatar EPC
IPDC - Assaluyeh Power Plant Thermal Power Station Unknown Iran EPC ITB
IPDC - Azerbaijan(Urumiya) Power Plant Thermal Power Station 170,000,000 Iran EPC
IPDC - Conversion of Single Cylcle to Combined Cylce Power Plants Thermal Power Station 260,000,000 Iran EPC
IPDC - National Power Plant Conversion Scheme Thermal Power Station 750,000,000 Iran EPC
IPDC - Parehsar IPP Thermal Power Station unknown Iran EPC
IPDC - Seymareh Hydro Electric Power Station Utilities Unknown Iran FEED
IPDC - Siah Bisheh Hydro Electric Power Station Utilities 280,000,000 Iran EPC
Kahramaa - Desalination Plant Desalination Unknown Qatar EPC ITB
KAHRAMAA - Muaither Water Station Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) Unknown Qatar EPC ITB
Kahramaa - New Power Project ( Facility D) Independent Power Plant (IPP) Unknown Qatar Feasibility Study
KAHRAMAA - Qatar Transmission - Phase 6 Power Grid 1,000,000,000 Qatar EPC
KAHRAMAA - Qatar Transmission - Phase 7 Power Transmission Lines 500,000,000 Qatar EPC
KAHRAMAA - Qatar Transmission - Phase 8 Power Transmission Lines 700,000,000 Qatar EPC
KAHRAMAA - Qatar Transmission - Phase 9 Power Transmission Lines 1,000,000,000 Qatar PMC ITB
KAHRAMAA - Ras Laffan B IWPP Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 1,000,000,000 Qatar EPC
KAHRAMAA - Submarine Power Cable Power Transmission Lines 199,000,000 Qatar EPC
KSC - Khouzestan Power Station Thermal Power Station 200,000,000 Iran EPC ITB
Limitless - Waterside Development Water Storage Tanks Unknown Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
M POWER - Mesaieed IPP Independent Power Plant (IPP) 3,000,000,000 Qatar EPC
MAADEN - Al Zabirah Power Plant Power Grid 800,000,000 Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
MAADEN - Ras Az Zawr Power Plant Power Plant 3,000,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC ITB
MARAFIQ - Jubail IWPP Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 3,400,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
MARAFIQ - Yanbu IWPP Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 4,000,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC ITB
QEWC - New Desalination Project Desalination 577,000,000 Qatar EPC
QP - Ras Laffan Sea Water Cooling - Phase 2 Sea Water Conversion 1,000,000,000 Qatar EPC
QP - Ras Laffan Sea Water Cooling - Phase 3 Sea Water Conversion 500,000,000 Qatar On Hold
QP - SHELL - Pearl GTL (Water Treatment Plant) Waste Water Treatment 80,000,000 Qatar EPC
QP - SHELL - Pearl GTL - Power, Utilities & Offsites Package Gas to Liquids (GTL) Unknown Qatar EPC
RAS GIRTAS - Ras Laffan C IWPP (Ras Girtas IWPP) Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 3,800,000,000 Qatar EPC
SAUDI ARAMCO - Khurais Oil Increment Program -
Package 4 - Expansion of the Qurayyah Seawater Treatment Plant Water Treatment 170,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SAUDI ARAMCO - PETRO RABIGH -
Rabigh Refinery Expansion & Petrochemical Complex (Power Plant) Power Plant Unknown Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - 1,200MW Rabigh IPP Independent Power Plant (IPP) Unknown Saudi Arabia EPC ITB
SEC - 380kV Substation at Manifa Substations 100,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC ITB
SEC - Arar Power Plant Expansion Power Grid 86,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Duba Power Plant Power Plant Unknown Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - EEHC - Saudi Egypt Power Grid Link Power Grid Unknown Saudi Arabia PMC ITB
SEC - Interconnection Lines - Qassim-Madinah Power Transmission Lines 670,000,000 Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
SEC - Iscosa - Reinforcement of Six Substations Substations 64,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - IWPP Yanbu Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) Unknown Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
SEC - Kandarah 380/110/13.8kV Power Substation Substations 134,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Najran Power Plant Expansion Power Grid 100,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Nine IPP Independent Power Plant (IPP) 21,000,000,000 Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
SEC - Power Plant # 11 (PP11) Power Plant Unknown Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
SEC - Power Plant #10 Power Grid 2,000,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Qurayyah Power Plant - Phase 1 - Screen Retrofit Power Plant 200,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC ITB
SEC - Qurayyah Power Plant - Phase II Power Plant 1,900,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Rabigh Power Plant Power Plant 1,350,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Rafah Power Plant Expansion Power Grid Unknown Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Sharourah Power Plant Expansion Power Plant 96,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Shoaibah Phase II Power Transmission Lines 1,032,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Substation at Hayil University Substations Unknown Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Tihama Power Plant Expansion Power Grid 200,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SEC - Western Makkah Substation Substations Unknown Saudi Arabia Construction
SIPA - Jeddah Water Utilities Water Treatment 80,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC ITB
SWCC - Jeddah Desalination Plant Desalination 1,100,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SWCC - Ras Al Zour to Riyadh Water Transmission System Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 200,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC ITB
SWCC - Shuqaiq Water Tranmission Project Phase II Water 900,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
SWCC - Yanbu 3 IWPP IPWP (Independent Power & Water Project) Unknown Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
TAVANIR - Fars Power Station Thermal Power Station 175,000,000 Iran EPC
TAVANIR - Gas Insulated Sub Stations Substations Unknown Iran EPC
TAVANIR - Qain Power Station Thermal Power Station 175,000,000 Iran EPC
TAVANIR - Rey Power Plant Thermal Power Station 250,000,000 Iran EPC
TAVANIR - Urumiya Power Station Thermal Power Station 175,000,000 Iran EPC
TAVANIR - Zanjan IPP Thermal Power Station 850,000,000 Iran EPC
WEC - IWPP Jubail Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 1,400,000,000 Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
WEC - IWPP Ras Azzour Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 3,000,000,000 Saudi Arabia Feasibility Study
WEC - IWPP Shuqaiq Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 400,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
WEC - Shuaiba IWPP Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) 2,450,000,000 Saudi Arabia EPC
YREC - Yazd BOO Power Plant Thermal Power Station 369,000,000 Iran Feasibility Study